You Don’t know what you want!

I know, this sounds confusing and possibly slightly insulting, but hear me out.  Don’t get me wrong, there are people out there who know exactly what they want.  They research, then think about it, then research some more, then think some more, and then they develop in their head exactly what they want (you can’t see but I am raising my hand very high in the air as I am guilty of this).  In my experience however, most people aren’t like this when it comes to having something custom made.  

Sure, we all have an idea of what we want to some degree, but most people don’t get past the concept phase before they dive into the “pursuit of happiness”.  A perfect example of this are garden beds.  I get so many people who contact me inquiring about them and when I ask them what size they need, it isn’t uncommon for them to respond with “well, you know, something not too big but also not too small”.  Well, if you have seen my garden I am willing to bet your definition and my definition of big and small are vastly different.  Sometimes, it is just easier to offer set sizes with set prices instead of offering the option of a custom size.  This is a challenge for me since I am the type of person who plans things out and knows what they want.  I also don’t like to settle and I like options to choose from that will better align with my wants and needs.  Because I have this mentality, I unfortunately assume that everyone is like this.  However that is rarely the case.    

Another example of why most people don’t know what they want is I will get approached with a photo of something they want built.  Without a little bit of additional information, I can’t give you a quote.  When I get asked if I can make whatever the photo is of, I first usually ask what size and material is needed.  Depending on the response, that will likely dictate my next question.  If the person has a size and material in mind then that tells me that they have a good start to knowing what they want and likely have an idea of what price range it is going to be in.  If they don’t have any idea what size they need, I just jump to the question of “What is your budget for this project?”.  While this may seem a bit direct, know that it is necessary.  Trying to figure out what a customer wants takes time, especially if you are contacted about custom work by multiple people in a day.  I can’t spend all evening playing 20 questions with a potential customer trying to figure out what they really want.  If I sense they don’t know what they want, by determining what their budget is, that will help me dictate the design, be it size, material, or both.  If they have a low budget for a project that really shouldn’t have a low budget then the final size and/or material will be sacrificed.  Sometimes I will know right away that there is no way their budget and desired project will ever work out and relaying that back to the customer is not always easy.  

Speaking of material selection, almost every person will not have a specific wood species in mind.  Unfortunately for them and me, there is not a species of wood that works for every application and is the lowest price available.  Most people probably don’t even realize that some woods are better for outdoor furniture and other woods are better for table tops while other woods are better for painting.  Because I am who I am and know what I would want in their situation, I try to put myself in the customer’s shoes to see if they have something in mind.  This is where my experience and knowledge about wood will come into play to help determine what is best for your application.  By bringing light to some of the characteristics of wood and their applications, it will assist when it comes to providing pricing.  If their budget for the project is low, they likely won’t be able to have their project made from solid walnut but instead have pine that is stained walnut color.  Or they can get solid walnut, but the overall size will only be 20% of the actual size they were wanting due to the massive cost difference in lumber.

This is why some woodworkers do not even do any custom work.  They simply do not want to deal with the back and forth trying to make it work for you or the potential hassle of some customers who really don’t want to spend any money but expect everything for practically nothing.  By having a product line of items to sell, with perhaps a few selections of wood species or stain colors, it forces the consumer to make the buying decision.  How often have you stood in a store looking to buy a product and there are only 2 options and neither is what you truly wanted?  I am sure more times than not you just pick the one that best aligns with your needs and wants and move on.  This same concept is used by some makers who have their niche and all they do is provide a limited variety of select products.  This may sound insensitive to the consumer that the maker doesn’t care what the consumer wants but the reality is it allows them to focus on streamlining what they do best to provide the consumer the lowest cost product with the highest possible quality.  If you don’t like what they offer, that’s okay, there are plenty of makers out there who can provide you with what you are looking for.  

I consider myself a hybrid of the custom maker and the product maker.  I do accept custom work, but my focus seems to be more on product lines.  This allows me to hone in on streamlining my manufacturing as well as shipping logistics (there is A LOT that goes into this that many don’t think about).  The frequency that I get approached for custom work is not that high which allows me the option to accept a custom order every now and then.  However, the manufacturing engineer in me knows that adjusting my strategy to focus solely on the customers who are okay picking something “off the shelf”, even if it isn’t exactly what they have in mind, is the best path forward compared to those who want something custom but don’t really know what they want.  In order to be profitable, I have to dictate my pricing based on what I know I can produce.  This is why custom work typically costs way more which I covered quite extensively in a previous blog (I recommend giving it a read if you are considering having something custom made!).

So the next time you approach a woodworker to have something custom made, try not to be offended if they are blunt about what your budget is, or that they will charge you for a quote, or that they simply won’t do something custom for you.  The fact of the matter is approximately 10% of customers with custom wants actually go forward with having something made.  That isn’t a very high rate of success for the woodworker so spending all of their time and energy trying to pinpoint exactly what you want and making it work just for you in hopes of securing an order just isn’t worth it 90% of the time.